Newly appointed reserve bank governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday met with the heads of public sector banks who sought some relaxations in the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework and the one-day default norms announced by the RBI in its February 12 circular. The meeting took place a day ahead of the crucial meeting of the central board of RBI here, which will take up a host of contentious issues, including the PCA norms.

Saying the government has not “destroyed the Reserve Bank as an institution,” Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday asserted the central bank is part and parcel of the government and therefore it has to support the economic vision of the government of the day.

Shares of Yes Bank on Thursday plunged over 6 per cent on the bourses, as the private sector lender could not announce the name of its new managing director and chief executive officer at the board meeting. Shares fell 6.48 per cent to Rs 174.70 on both the BSE and the NSE after rising close to 15 per cent in the last three sessions.

The poll-bound Modi government may announce a holistic or selective farm loan waiver, however, it could be the “worst solution” to alleviate farmers’ distress, warn economists at SBI Research.

Instead, they suggest that income support schemes may be a more effective alternative and bold steps are needed to address rural distress, days after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) loss in three key state elections where farmers have been hit by low prices and higher input cost.

With geo-political factors impacting crude prices, India needs to have a good oil hedging policy as the volatility will continue to rise, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday.

Rajan said the issue has been discussed in the past and it began with a strategic petroleum reserve, but beyond that there is a need to think about hedging oil prices especially when it comes to levels such as now.

Air India’s union representing narrow body pilots on Wednesday alleged a majority of its members were defaulting on bank EMIs due to the salary delays which was also putting them under a lot of “stress”.

In a letter to AI chairman and managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola, the Indian commercial pilots association (ICPA) also claimed the loss-making carrier had only partially paid the pilots for October as they were yet to receive the flying allowance, which constitutes 80 per cent of their total monthly salary.

Shaktikanta Das, the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India, on Wednesday allayed fears of rift between the central bank and the government saying he would do everything to uphold the core values and autonomy of RBI.

At his first press conference, Das said every institution must adhere to principles of accountability and that the government was not just a stakeholder but managed policy and ran the country.

He said the December 14 RBI board meeting was on track and would discuss all issues listed in the agenda and set up a panel on RBI reserves shortly.

With the reins rpt reins of the RBI governorship passing to ex-bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian (in pic) on Wednesday said central bank autonomy is "sacred", which should not be compromised.

He said progress made on the steps taken by predecessor Urjit Patel to restore financial system integrity will be a key measure to assess institutional integrity.

Huge selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) was seen in the equity market after the shakeup at RBI and the setback to the BJP in state polls, giving observers an impression that foreign investors re-setting their India strategy.

FPIs sold off equity holdings worth Rs 3,742.86 crore in the last two trading sessions as the twin events, change of guard at RBI and state assembly elections verdict, have unfolded. They sold equities worth Rs 2,443.43 crore on Tuesday and Rs 1,299.43 crore on Wednesday.